Vitra - Ceramic Container No.3

Alexander Girard's work brought a sensuous playfulness to twentieth-century design that had been absent from the austere aesthetic of classic modernism.‎ This also finds expression in the Ceramic Containers.‎ The three original models were made of wood, hand-turned by Girard on a lathe in his workshop.‎ Their silhouettes are reminiscent of the traditional shapes of apothecary vessels, board game tokens or millinery blocks.‎The original wooden objects are held in the Girard Archive at the Vitra Design Museum.‎ Using these models as templates, Vitra joined together with the Girard family to develop the Ceramic Containers in cast ceramic.‎ The hand-glazed pieces feature hues from Girard's rich colour palette and can be used to store odds and ends, keys, coins or other items.‎ The natural material lends the Ceramic Containers an artisanal flair.‎Along with his colleagues Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson, the designer and architect Alexander Girard was one of the leading figures in American design during the post-war era.‎ While textile design was the primary focus of Girard's oeuvre, he was also admired for his graphic art as well as his work in furniture, exhibition and interior design.‎Material: ceramic, hand-glazed.‎